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The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu could replace the Impala for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season.

Is Chevrolet set to race the Malibu in NASCAR next year?

January 29, 2012

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Your Honor:

No, we don't have a tacit admission from the party involved, Chevrolet, but we think you will find the circumstantial evidence rather compelling. It suggests that Chevy will race the Malibu instead of the Impala for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, up against the 2013 Fusion that Ford revealed last week during the NASCAR Media Tour at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Please consider the facts:

-- NASCAR has capitulated to the manufacturers' desires to race vehicles that more closely resemble the cars they sell. The NASCAR Ford Fusion indeed resembles the 2013 Fusion for the road. But given NASCAR's single-minded mandate to equalize competition, the sanctioning body and the manufacturers had to reach a compromise body template that could be massaged to resemble each company's road-going vehicle.

A huge concession for 2013: Instead of mandating where the body material and glass (actually lexan for racing) has to be on its race cars' greenhouses, NASCAR no longer cares. As long as the surfaces are solid, they can be made either from body metal or lexan. That means manufacturers will be able to more easily shape their racing machines to resemble their street cars.

In addition, the area below the greenhouse but above the rocker panels is also open for styling differences, making possible, for instance, the side-strake ridges in the NASCAR Fusion that genuinely help the appearance but likely won't affect performance.

The 2013 Ford Fusion (shown) has dimensions similar to those of the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, which leads some to believe that the Malibu is destined for the NASCAR circuit next season.

-- To that end, look at the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and you'll see that the basic dimensions and shape of the car match those of the Fusion far better than, say, the tepid Impala, and certainly the Camaro.

The first in the all-new, eighth-generation Malibu lineup to arrive in dealer showrooms--on sale this first quarter (starting price: $25,995)--is the Malibu Eco, with eAssist technology, enabling General Motors-estimated fuel economy of 25 mpg city, 37 mpg highway, making it the most fuel-efficient Malibu ever.

No, the NASCAR version won't have eAssist, but then the Fusion won't have EcoBoost, which was painted on the side of the NASCAR Fusion at Charlotte. The 2013 Malibu body style is the work of Bryan Nesbitt, who was also responsible for the handsome seventh-generation car, so there is continuity there.

-- So which model of Malibu will appear in NASCAR? We have further evidence to suggest that Chevrolet might revive the SS designation for the performance version of the Malibu, though a “performance version” may not be what Malibu V8 loyalists are looking for. Chevrolet could hang a turbocharger on the 2.5-liter four-cylinder that will be the standard, and only, engine offered in the non-eAssist Malibu, and there will only be an automatic transmission.

But what about the powertrain in the Buick Regal GS? It has a 270-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder with a decent if vague six-speed manual transmission. That powertrain will fit easily under the Malibu's hood--add some larger tires and wheels and stiffen the suspension a little, and you have an SS. We recently put 1,200 miles on a Buick GS, taking it to and back from the NASCAR media tour, oddly enough, and it seems like a no-brainer.

-- At the media tour, as well as at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, we pinned down Chevrolet boss Jim Campbell, who is in charge of the brand's racing program. We backed Campbell against a wall and interrogated him, which did not work so well because Campbell is a very large man. But he did say to expect something special from Chevrolet, and it's hard to imagine anything Impala-related might be particularly special.

We also wondered aloud about how NASCAR got the four manufacturers in one room and got them to agree to these changes. It was the other way around, Campbell said. The four manufacturers asked NASCAR for several major changes: the use of fuel injection; some green aspect, fulfilled by the increased ethanol usage; and the biggest concern--allowing them to race cars that will give the fans some sort of brand identity.

“NASCAR understood, and they were great to work with,” Campbell said.

Increasing Campbell's credibility was that at 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 29, he was out wandering pit road at the Rolex 24, checking on his new Corvette sports-car teams. We didn't see a lot of other top OEM execs at 2:30 a.m. If he says to expect something special at the upcoming closed test of the four new NASCAR body styles at Homestead-Miami Speedway, we tend to believe him.